Method for temporarily connecting rails

ABSTRACT

A method for temporarily operationally connecting one or both rails of bolted railway track to a laid portion of continuous welded rail or rails of railway track, without permanently bending or cutting the welded rail, during the course of removal of bolted or jointed rails and replacement thereof with continuous welded rail, when it is desired to connect a bolted rail and a welded rail to enable train traffic thereover.

l Unlted States Patent ns1 3,682,383 Borst [451 Aug. 8, 1972 [54] METHOD FOR TEMPORARILY 160,197 2/ 1875 Houston ..238/ 171 CONNECTING RAILS 2,067,598 1/ 1937 Clarke ..238/ 171 411,362 9 1889 W ..238 282 [72] Inventor; Henry v. Borst, 130x266, wayman,` l e" l Pa- 18472 Primary Examiner-Arthur L. Le Point [22] Filed: Aug. 7 1970 Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorney-Gardner J. OBoyle and James G. OBoyle [2l] Appl` No.: 62,077

Related U.S. Application Data L57] thod f ABSI CT au l me or temporariy operation y connecting [62] Dlvlslon of Ser. No. 716,799, March 28, 1968, one or both rails of bolted railway track to a laid pol- Pat. No. 3,593,918. tion of continuous welded rail or rails of railway track, without permanently bending or cutting the welded U-S rail, the course of removal of bolted or jointed [5 l] Int. Cl. Eolb 27/00, EOlb 29/44 rails and replacement thereof with continuous welded [58] Field of Search ..238/ 171, 282; 104/2 rail, when it is desired to connect a bolted rail and a welded rail to enable train traffic thereover. [56] References Cited 2 CI 6 Drawing Fi UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,991,105 2/1935 Lewis ou u 25 9 29 2a 26 29 28 ou D-o ou r, bp I 3 i424 ab :a D pas 0 en ,5,0 2700,0 ovv ganzuggduvog gio 22270052292? 50252530 g3 b @ozon )i123 on. 28 u 27l 28l [2] Z000 2? '55. o u To flo., o, o u o :i .lo 000,1; n ,t

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snm 1 or 2 INV ENTOR V. BORST ATTORNEYS PAIENTEDAUG 81912 v 3,682,383 SHEET 2 F 2 i QN 27u @i140 il hihi... y

l INVENTOR v f HENRY v. BoRsT BY iwi@ ATTORNEYS METHOD FOR TEMPORARILY CONNECI'ING RAILS This is a division of application Ser. No. 716,799, filed Mar. 28, 1968; now U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,918 granted July 20, 1971.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Continuous welded rail (C.W.R.) as dened by American Railway Engineering Association, consists of sufficient lengths of conventional rail welded together to form a string 400 ft. or longer. The strings currently employed vary in length from 1,320 ft. to 1,440 ft. approximately, and a train load of continuous ribbons or strings, each string being one-quarter of a mile long, usually consists of 40 strings equal to lO miles of rail or track miles.

ln recent years, there has been considerable activity by many railroads to utilize continuous welded rail, in lieu of conventional bolted rail, and some roads have adopted it as standard for replacement of bolted rails and for new installations in connection with the construction of cut-offs or other line changes.

It will be appreciated that the handling and installation of continuous welded rail requires special equipment in order that the rail gang may lay this type of rail faster and more efficiently than conventional bolted rails. The man-hours required to lay a track-mile of welded rail varies according to the method employed, conditions encountered, and the nature of the operation, that is to say, whether laying the rail on single track under traffic, or on multiple tracks where one track can be closed to traffic. Of course, the ideal condition when laying rails, whether welded or bolted, is to divert all traffic so that the crew will have substantially full on-track working time; however, as a practical matter, this condition is rarely encountered and it is difflcult, if not impossible, to achieve.

With reference to diversion of traffic so that the track crew may have full on-track working time, a decision in this regard will be based primarily on a study of the economic feasibility of diverting the traffic, and it will be appreciated that the results of such study will be in tenns of expense incident to diverting traffic versus permitting reduced flow of traffic by employing the methods and procedures heretofore practiced. The expense involved in connection with diverting traffic is in terms of loss of revenue normally received for transporting passengers and freight over the closed portion of track during the period traffic is interrupted. The expense incurred in connection with reduced flow of traffic depends upon a number of factors, and more particularly (l) upon the frequency of which the rails are temporarily connected to permit train traffic thereover, (2) the time required to disconnect the rails to allow the track replacement operation to proceed, and (3) the method employed to temporarily connect the rails.

Assuming that a study of the project for Areplacing bolted rails with continuous welded rails indicates that it would be advisable to pemiit reduced flow of train trafc, the principal item of expense incident thereto will be the time required to temporarily, operationally connect the rails and to disconnect the same, so that the track gang can resume installation of the welded rails. In accordance with present practice, from 2-3 hours are required to install a string of continuous welded rail 1,400 feet long, and if the operation is such that train traic is pen'nitted, it is necessary to cut the welded rail at an appropriate point beyond the end of the laid portion thereof, and then connect the free end portion of the welded rail and the contiguous end portion of the conventional rail by means of suitable clamps, joint bars and the like. A cut is made by burning the rail, and this operation usually requires the services of a welder and a helper; after the rail has been cut, it is drilled preparatory to temporarily connecting it to the conventional rail, and when the period allotted for train trafc expires, the temporary connection is disconnected, and the free ends of the welded rail portions are permanently joined by welding. ln view of the man-hours required to connect and disconnect the rails so that installation of welded rail can be resumed, plus the cost of the material involved, it has been found that even under favorable conditions, the minimum cost at current rates will be something of the order of $100.00 or more, each time a welded rail and a conventional rail are connected and disconnected, in accordance with the above-described procedure.

Another item of expense is the per diem charge for foreign cars, namely, cars belonging to other railroads which cars usually must be returned to the home roads before midnight, otherwise the user road will be charged for another day for each car. Additional expense for many railroads also arises in connection with so-called connection time, that is to say, the particular time which the railroads guarantee arrival of their trains at a specic connection or location; and failure to perform is considered a breach of contract, so to speak, resulting in forfeiture of a sum of money, which is frequently a substantial amount.

` Accordingly, the above-noted potential extra costs are further indicative of the desirability of increasing the volume of train traffic normally permitted during the course of replacement of the rails of a railway track, in accordance with present practice, and with concomitant increase of on-track working time by the track crew during a regular work day.

After considerable research and experimentation, l have found that a laid portion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track, can be temporarily, operationally connected during the course of replacement of bolted rail with continuous welded rail, without permanently bending or cutting or severing the welded rail in order to temporarily connect the rails according to the teachings of the prior art. More particularly, l have found that by means of the apparatus of the present invention that the track may be closed-up to permit normal train traffic in a relatively short time, as compared with conventional methods, and at approximately 5-10 percent of the cost of such methods, including the time required to disconnect the rails when installation of welded rail is to be resumed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The improved construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of bolted rail during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuous welded rail, without cutting or severing the welded rail, comprises, essentially, a switch point, including heel and top portions, supported on cross ties with the heel portion connected in abutting relation with the terminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail, the tip portion being positioned in contiguous relation with the welded rail and merging therewith, and means to immobilize the switch point in the operative position with respect to the laid portion of the welded rail, comprising a plurality of guard rail clamps constructed and arranged in predetemrined relation longitudinally of the switch point between selected pairs of cross ties, and a plurality of adjustable switch slides secured to selected intennediate ties, with the switch point supported thereon.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track, during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuous welded rail on existing cross ties, without cutting or otherwise severing the welded rail, or bending the same.

Another object of my invention is to provide an irnproved construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional rail without cutting or severing the welded rail, said improved construction being designed whereby the temporary, operational connection between the welded rail and the bolted rail may be economically achieved in a relatively short period of time, as compared with prior methods, thus substantially increasing the on-track time of the track crew.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide an improved construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of .a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail, during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with the welded rail, without cutting or severing the welded rail, said construction being designed whereby the welded rail may be connected to the bolted rail in substantially less time and at approximately one-tenth of the cost of temporarily connecting the rails in accordance with present methods.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail of a railway track, said construction being designed whereby the track may be closed-up at the end of the workday to permit train traic thereover until the track laying operations are resumed the next workday.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a string of welded rail with a laid section of bolted rail, during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with the welded rail, without cutting or severing the welded rail, said construction comprising a relatively small number of components which are of strong and sturdy construction adapted to be repeatedly employed for their intended purpose over a long period of time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the laid portion of a string of continuous welded rail temporarily, operationally connected to a laid section of conventional bolted rail, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the portion of FIG. 1 embodying the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line 4--4 of FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a view along line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. l, there is shown a string of continuous welded rail designated generally by numeral l0, having a laid portion ll, temporarily, operationally connected as at 12 to a laid section of one of the conventional bolted rails 13 of a railroad track supported on cross ties 14; and a diagrammatic view of railroad train units 15 traveling on the bolted rails in the direction of the means employed to close-up the track between the end of one of the bolted rails and the laid portion of the welded rail.

Reference being had to FIG. 2, which is an enlarged plan view of the portion of FIG. 1 embodying the improved construction of the present invention, comprising a switch point 16 of the same weight of rail as the welded rail, having its heel portion 17 connected to the end portion of the bolted rail 13 by means of angle bars 18 and associated bolts 19, the tip portion 20 of the switch point being positioned in contiguous relation with the angularly disposed portion 21 of the welded rail, the end portion 22 of the tip merging with the rectilinear portion 23 of the welded rail, as shown.

The means employed to immobilize the switch point 16 in the operative position with respect to the laid por tion ll of the welded rail, comprises novel guard rail clamps 24, 25 and 26, having wedges 27 and keys 27a, as will be described more fully hereinafter, said guard rail clamps being positioned between pairs of ties 14 at the tip end of the switch point, at a point intermediate the tip and heel portions, and at the heel portion, respectively. In addition, adjustable switch slides 28 and braces may be used on each tie or on every other tie. If an adjustable slide and brace is used on every other tie, then a frog slide or hook plate 29 is used on each of the remaining ties, While only single frog or hook plates are shown, it will be understood that twin hook plates may be employed, if desired, arranged side by side on a tie and facing in opposite directions. For purposes of illustration, it has been assumed that the second rail of the track is conventional bolted rail 13 supported on standard tie plates 30, and secured to the ties by means of spikes.

Referring to FIG. 3, one of the adjustable switch slides 28 is shown in the operative position with respect to the welded rail 10 serated on a suitable tie plate 3l, the wedge member 32 of the slide being retained in adjusted wedging position against the face of the web portion 33 of the rail by means of a pivotal detent 34, constructed and arranged to seat in a registering slot 35 of the wedge. The tie plate 31 and flange 36 of the switch point 16 are secured to the tie 14 by means of spikes 37 driven into the tie through openings formed in the plate. In FIG. 4, a single hook plate 29 is shown in the operative position with its hook member 38 projecting over the upper surface of the bottom flange 39 of the rail 10, the switch point 16 being clamped in fixed position by means of spikes 37; and the guard rail clamp 24 nearest the heel portion of the switch point 16 is shown in FIG. 5, together with wedges 27 having portions 27' adapted for frictional bearing engagement with the curvilinear surfaces 40 of the end portions 41 of the clamps.

The procedure in connection with the replacement of the old rail with welded rail is as follows: pemiission must first be obtained from the train dispatcher before the rail gang can begin to work on the track. Assuming that the dispatcher authorizes the foreman to proceed with the work for a period of approximately one hour or more, the foreman then decides how much old rail can be removed and thereafter replaced with welded rail, within the alloted time. There are several operations which must be completed after the old rail is removed before the welded rail is placed; for example, removal of the old tie plates, plugging the spike holes, adzing the ties and replacing the tie plates. As the above-noted operations progress, the welded rail is laid, and when the foreman selects the stopping point, the switch point is connected to the old rail, the ties are adzed, if necessary, and the guard rail clamps positioned between selected pairs of ties, switch slides and the hook plates are placed on the ties under the switch point. When the crane which handles the welded rail reaches the switch point, the operator places the welded rail to the outside of the switch point and holds it against the switch point until one guard rail clamp is tightened and one tie is spiked. If the welded rail has been laid from the center of the track, the crane moves over the switch point and removes the remaining unlaid portion of the rail from the center of the track to the outside thereof on the shoulder of the road bed. When work is resumed, the rail is laid on the ties directly from the shoulder.

As indicated hereinabove, the track may be closedup at the end of the workday, in order to permit train traffic thereover until track laying operations are resumed the next workday. When the temporary connection is left in the track over-night, for example, it is connected to the signal circuit, and the trains operate at normal speeds. In this regard, reference again being had to FIG. 2, the signal circuit comprises a bond wire 42 having one end welded to the old rail, the opposite end of the wire being welded to the switch point, on the outside of the ball of rail, which is the standard location. There is also a connecting wire 43 between the old rail and the welded rail just beyond the end of the switch point. It will be understood that when making a temporary connection to permit passage of only one train, wires 42 and 43 may be clamped to the rails so as to complete the signal circuit. When the temporary connection is left in the track over-night, a switch box 44 having electrical circuit breakers connected through suitable leads to the signal circuit is positioned outside of the welded rail on the end portion of the first tie at the tip of the switch point. If for any reason, the switch point opens, the circuit breakers are actuated to open the signal circuit, thus causing the signals to move to stop position.

Some railroads operate trains every hour or less, and where certain of these roads operate single track, with a relatively large number of trains, it would be practically irnpossible to place welded rail under these conditions, in accordance with prior suggested methods, wherein the welded rail is severed, then bolted to the old rail to close-up the track to permit train traffic, and is uncoupled from the old rail when laying of welded rail is resumed. In addition to the time required to sever the new rail, bolt it to the old rail, disconnect it, and then re-weld the new rail to form a continuous rail, requires approximately one-half hour before operations can begin after a train or trains have passed. This time includes placing the track machines and other equipment on the track from an access road, and bring some machines from the clearance point switch. By means of the construction employed in accordance with the present invention, with close timing and eicient planning a portion of welded rail can be laid every hour.

As explained hereinabove, the welded rail is held against the outside of the switch point by the crane operator until one guard rail clamp is tightened and one tie is spiked. The operations are completed in five minutes by two men, while the crane is moving to clearance; and approximately the same period of time for two men to remove the temporary connection after a train passes. When applying the welded rail, it is laid in a direction so that the old rail can be removed while the crane is returning from the clearance point.

Other situations arise in which the construction of the present invention can be economically employed while the rail gang is waiting a train after the track has been closed-up. For example, it sometimes happens the train is delayed because of the hot-box, crippled cars, stalling on grades, engine failure or derailment. These delays would not be long enough to install a string of welded rail, but the train dispatcher would permit rail gangs to work on the track provided it could be closedup in a matter of a few minutes.

lt will be appreciated that when the track is closedup, as described hereinabove, to permit train traic thereover, such traffic may proceed at normal speed, that is to say, it is not necessary to reduce the speed. This is an important feature of the construction of the present invention, particularly when the track is closedup for an extended period of time, as for example, overnight.

In connection with the lengths of the strings of continuous rail, some railroads prefer to weld strings of length 1,400 feet together to form continuous lengths of l mile or more. The welding is performed on the ground, after the 1,400 foot strings are unloaded. The reason for welding the shorter lengths together after they are unloaded is because better welds are obtained, and additionally, welding the short strings in-track delays production.

I claim:

l. A method of temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track, during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuous welded rail on existing cross ties, without permanently bending or severing the welded rail, comprising:

a. supporting a switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, on the ties with its heel portion 3,682,383 7 8 adjacent the terminal end of the laid section of the the bolted rail with continuous welded rail on existing bolted rail; cross ties, without permanently bending or severing the b. connecting the heel portion of the switch point to welded rail, comprising:

the terminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail;

- c. placing the unlaid portion of the welded rail outside ofthe switch point; d. positioning the welded rail in contiguous relation with the tip portion of the switch point; and

a. supporting a switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, on the ties with its heel portion adjacent the terminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail;

b. connecting the heel portion of the switch point to the temrinal end of the laid section of the bolted e. immobilizing the switch point in the operative l rail;

position with respect to the bolted rail section and C- Qlacmg the ll'rllald QOIlOn 0f the Welded rail Outthe laid portion of the welded rail, between the tip Slde 0f the SWlCh POlm;

and the heel portion of the switch point, with a series of guard rail clamps arranged in predetermined spaced relation longitudinally of the switch l point between selected adjacent pairs of cross ties, thereby closing up the track and pemiitting normal train traic thereover.

2. A method of temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of continuous welded rail and a laid mg the SWltCh Polm on the Switch Slides and the e section of conventional bolted rail, constituting one rail Platesof a railway track, during the course of replacement of d. positioning the welded rail in contiguous relation with the tip portion of the switch point; and

e. immobilizing the switch point in the operative position with respect to the laid portion of the welded rail, by securing an adjustable switch slide to one of the ties of each selected pair; securing a tie plate to each of the remaining ties, and support- 

1. A method of temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track, during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuous welded rail on existing cross ties, without permanently bending or severing the welded rail, comprising: a. supporting a switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, on the ties with its heel portion adjacent the terminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail; b. connecting the heel portion of the switch point to the terminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail; c. placing the unlaid portion of the welded rail outside of the switch point; d. positioning the welded rail in contiguous relation with the tip portion of the switch point; and e. immobilizing the switch point in the operative position with respect to the bolted rail section and the laid portion of the welded rail, between the tip and the heel portion of the switch point, with a series of guard rail clamps arranged in predetermined spaced relation longitudinally of the switch point between selected adjacent pairs of cross ties, thereby closing up the track and permitting normal train traffic thereover.
 2. A method of temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track, during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuous welded rail on existing cross ties, without permanently bending or severing the welded rail, comprising: a. supporting a switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, on the ties with its heel portion adjacent the terminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail; b. connecting the heel portion of the switch point to the terminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail; c. placing the unlaid portion of the welded rail outside of the switch point; d. positioning the welded rail in contiguous relation with the tip portion of the switch point; and e. immobilizing the switch point in the operative position with respect to the laid portion of the welded rail, by securing an adjustable switch slide to one of the ties of each selected pair; securing a tie plate to each of the remaining ties, and supporting the switch point on the switch slides and the tie plates. 